Rashad Johnson’s torn finger just the latest act of toughness by an Arizona athlete

Aug. 24, 2013 - After recovering a Chargers fumble on the 1-yard line, Cardinals' Rashad Johnson laterals to Sam Acho (left) who fumbles the ball on the 4-yard line, then San Diego Chargers score a touchdown.

By now you’ve probably heard more than you want to know about how Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson lost the tip of his middle finger when it somehow was severed during last week’s game in New Orleans.

Maybe you’re even in the market for one of those clever Cardinals foam fingers with the tip missing.

Anyway, for those who somehow missed it Johnson pulled his hand from a blood-soaked left glove but his fingertip did not come along. Doctors shaved the bone and stitched it all up. Later, Johnson cracked that “at the end of the day, I’ve got nine more.”

Now that’s a tough dude. And it got us to thinking about other Arizona athletes through the years who have demonstrated a level of pain tolerance the rest of us only can imagine.

Johnson was listed as questionable for today’s game against the Buccaneers, but coach Bruce Arians sure sounded late in the week as if Johnson would at least play in a backup role and on special teams.

If he does, we figure he’ll go on a distinctive Tough Guy (and Lady) list that includes:

Jeremy Roenick’s jaw-dropping return.

Granted, there probably ought to be a separate category for hockey players. They’re just nuts. But Roenick suffered a broken jaw and fractured thumb late in the 1998-99 season and was expected to miss all of the playoffs.

But he returned for Game7 of a first-round series against St.Louis wearing a specially designed helmet and cage to protect his face. Roenick logged 21 minutes, but the Coyotes still lost 1-0.

Steve Nash and the gash.

During the infamous Suns-Spurs 2007 Western Conference semifinals, Nash clashed heads with Spurs guard Tony Parker and it opened a gusher from his split nose. Nash kept playing and hit a couple of big shots before blood oozed through his bandages, forcing him off the floor.

Nash’s Nose, Part Eeewwww

In yet another postseason twist, if you will, Nash suffered a displaced fracture of the nasal bone and displaced cartilage — or in medical terms, a busted schnoz — when he was head-butted by Derek Fisher of the Lakers during Game3 of the 2010 Western Conference finals.

Thing is, Nash grabbed the darned thing right there on the floor and twisted it back into position. Or at least most of the way back into position. Nash suffered the injury on a Sunday, had the nose fixed Monday and played in Game4 on Tuesday.

The Big Unit’s jelly knee.

Remember in 2003 when the cartilage in Diamondbacks’ star Randy Johnson’s right knee was so worn that he had bone-on-bone? He had a series of injections that pumped a synthetic gel into the joint to provide lubrication and not only pitched 35 more games in a Diamondbacks uniform, he authored a perfect game in 2004.

Kerri Strug’s vaunted vault.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team seemingly had the team gold wrapped up before a series of mishaps on the final apparatus, the vault. It all came down to Tucson’s Kerri Strug, the last to go, and she landed awkwardly and fell on her first attempt, tearing two ligaments in her ankle.

Coach Bela Kerolyi had to help her back to the runway, but Strug sprinted down it and launched herself into a back handspring off the horse and stuck the landing. After lifting the injured ankle to pose for the judges, she collapsed in pain and tears. Her score clinched gold and a place in Olympic lore.

Dan Majerle’s IV in V.

During the Suns 1993 run to the NBA Finals, they nearly didn’t get out of the first round against the Lakers. And only hours before Game5 of the best-of-five series, Majerle was hospitalized with a virus or food poisoning and received intravenous fluid. But he played 46 minutes in an overtime game, scored 19 points and hit the shot that forced overtime.

Jason Kidd’s screwed-up ankle.

Only six weeks after having surgery to insert three titanium screws into his fractured left ankle, Kidd returned for the deciding Game5 of a first-round series against San Antonio. He played 31 minutes, made 4of5 shots and had 10 assists as the Suns dethroned the Spurs.

A.C. Green’s Chiclets.

During his stay with the Suns, Green was in the midst of an NBA-record iron-man streak that would eventually reach 1,192 games. But it was endangered when J.R. Reid of the Knicks smashed him in the mouth with an elbow, sending his two front teeth clattering across the lane. Green calmly gathered his pearly whites and walked off the court. He did not miss a game.

But that’s pales next to Green’s other iron-man streak. An advocate for abstinence, Green practiced what he preached until he got married — at the age of 38, after retiring from the NBA.

Yeah, that’s tough.

Reach The Heat Index at 602-444-8271 or bob.young@arizonarepublic.com. Follow us on Twitter @BobYoungTHI.

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